1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to identification systems. More specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to optical identification elements that receive incoming optical signals and transmit outgoing optical signals that contain identification information.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a relatively new technology that, in recent years, has been widely adopted in a variety of applications, and is helping to revolutionize how consumers shop, how inventory is managed, and even how we keep ourselves, our children and our communities safe and secure.
Radio frequency identification operates by embedding a silicon chip (i.e., a “RFID chip”) into the fabric, skin or packaging of the device or physical item to be tracked or identified. Once the RFID chip is in place, a reasonably strong radio frequency (RF) beam is emitted, typically in the range of 1 GHz. The RF beam in effect surrounds the device, and energy from the beam is used to temporarily power or energize the RFID chip. As the RFID chip is energized, the chip eventually (typically in a fraction of a second) sends out its own RF beam back to a receiver, again typically in the range of about 1 GHz. The RF signal transmitted from the energized RFID chip includes encoded data, which permits identification information to be received by the receiver. In general, the RF signal emitted from the RFID chip can be used to verify the presence or existence of a device tagged with an RFID chip, to identify the physical location of the tagged device, to obtain information stored in the RFID chip, or to perform a combination of these operations.
One of the drawbacks of RFID systems relates to security. In many RFID systems, security and privacy is a concern because the RFID chips can be read using radio devices. When using RFID devices, users do not always have control over when the RFID chip is read or necessarily have the ability to prevent others from reading the RFID chip.